Massive sun storm Northern Lights display recorded

A dazzling aurora light show amazed skywatchers across North America, from Canada to Arkansas, and other northern regions Monday night (Oct. 24), painting the sky with striking green and even rare red hues.

The aurora display, also known as the northern lights, was touched off by a wave charged particles unleashed by a massive sun storm on Saturday, which took two days to reach Earth, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center operated by the National Weather Service and NOAA.

"These were the most vibrant I've ever seen," Canadian skywatcher Colin Chatfield of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan told SPACE.com in an email. "I was also able to see red with the naked eye, which I've never seen before either. Simply put, they were amazing."

Space weather officials said the arrival of the solar particles Monday triggered a geomagnetic storm that amped up the aurora displays. The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle.

"Couple that with the fact that large parts of the U.S. had very clear skies, and you've got some beautiful sightings of the aurora across the northern tier of the U.S.," Space Weather Prediction Center officials wrote in an update. Unfortunately for sky watchers, the geomagnetic storm appears to be in decline and no further significant space weather is expected at this time."

Japan level 7 Disaster like Chernobyl

Japan level 7 disaster like Chernobyl

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano speaks at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, April 12, 2011. Japan nuclear agency announced on Tuesday that it has raised the severity level of the accident at the crippled Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant to 7, the worst on an international scale, from the current 5.

According to Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the amount of radiation emissions released at the Fukushima plant was equivalent to 10 percent of Chernobyl.

The level has so far only been applied to the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe. The current assessment is at the same level with the Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979.

Japan to evacuate locals outside 20km radius of crippled nuke plant

The Japanese authorities have been battling to keep the troubled Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami under control. The plant has been leaking radioactive substances into environment.

TOKYO, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Locals in some areas outside the 20km radius of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will have to be evacuated due to accumulating radiation, Japan's top government spokesman Yukio Edano said Monday.

People living within 20 kilometers around the plant already have been ordered to leave because of concerns about radiation. Other people within 30 kilometers radius had been advised to stay indoors.

Edano said, however, that residents of five communities, some more than 30 kilometers from the plant, are being urged to leave within a month, as high radiation levels have been detected in some places and there are concerns about long-term health risks.

He also said residents of another five localities should be prepared to evacuate in case of emergency.

Thousands of people remain missing and workers are still struggling to regain control of the crippled nuclear power plant one month after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern regions of Japan on March 11.

Radioactive water leaks found at Onagawa nuke plant after Thursday's quake

TOKYO, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Radioactive water leaks were found Friday at Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi prefecture after the 7.4-magnitude aftershock shook northeastern Japan Thursday night, Kyodo News Agency reported.

Radioactive water spilled from pools holding spent nuclear fuel rods at the power plant. It was observed inside the buildings at all three reactors at the Onagawa plant, which has suspended operations since the mega earthquake and tsunami on March 11, according to the nuclear safety agency.